Simon Proctor (b1959) is best known for music for rare instruments. His Concerto for Serpent (1987) featured at some of John Williams’s Boston ‘Pops’ concerts, while the Amherst Suite is scored for a whole slither of them, and other concertos include examples for keyed bugle, ophicleide, and a James Bond Concerto for piano (2010). Proctor’s light-hearted approach is reflected also in some of his whimsical titles, whether Pellucid Nocturne (not included here) or Noctilucent Nocturne (which is), or some of the directions he employs, most notably ‘TALATASCO’ – Turn And Look At The Audience, Suddenly Carry On – in the barnstorming Rhapsody No 17 at the heart of this programme.

I think it is fair to say that Proctor’s musical language is not especially original or personal, except perhaps in his chameleon-like mix of styles and idioms, all tonally based. The First Sonata (1986 87, given here in its 2022 revision), is a good example, with bravura outer movements of Lisztian or Rachmaninovian mien framing the haunting lyricism (present also in the three nocturnes) of the large Andante, poco più mosso. The scherzo, ‘A Piper’, is a gentle, quite lovely, songlike inspiration, upstaged entirely by the riotous final Presto, Prestissimo.

This is not the first time Tyler Hay – whose recordings include works by John Ogdon and Kalkbrenner, and who secured First Prize at the 2022 Dudley International Piano Festival – has recorded Proctor’s music. At just 12 he set down several works, including the Sonata’s original version, performances available on the composer’s website and still sounding well. However, the Hay of 2022 is a more formidable, mature artist and his technical prowess has developed markedly, nowhere more manifest than in the concluding Rhapsody No 21, a real tour de force in the grand manner. This is a fun album, with excellent sound engineered by Adaq Khan and Michael Ponder.